LONE Philippine bet Kathryn Victory Magno hauled three bronze medals to modestly end her stint in the three-day 2014 Asian Open Short Track Speed Skating Trophy competition at the SM Megamall rink in Mandaluyong City on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Filipino-American made the podium in all three events she participated in—500 meters, 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters—during the three-day event hosted by the Philippine Skating Union.
In her first international competition on the track after 17 years of figure skating, Magno dueled against tough competition from South Korea and Chinese Taipei and did not disappoint.
Magno clocked three minutes and 6.53 seconds to finish third in the 1,500 meters behind South Koreans Choi Ji-hyun (2:53.22) and Kim Ju-young (2:53.35). She did 55.443 for the 500 meters bronze won by Son Ha-kyung (46.575) and Kim Ju-yong (46.79).
Magno (1:55.473) again claimed third spot in the 1,000 meters behind Son Ha-kyung (1:43.899) and Choi Ji-hyun (1:44.244).
Magno, who is based in San Jose, California, and trains in nearby Oakland, said her first major tournament was tough but remained steadfast on home ice to nail the three medals on her first try.
“It’s a great honor to be the lone Philippine representative in the event. It’s great to be back in the Philippines and representing the country in another discipline on the ice,” Magno told the BusinessMirror.
“I think, for me right now, I wasn’t expecting to bag any medals because of the [South] Koreans being part of this competition. I had the go-to mind-set and really had to be more confident in myself and I was able to do that in these past days,” she added.
The event, sanctioned by the Asian Skating Union, was the first speedskating race hosted by the country. A total of eight divisions for men and women were on the program. The event also drew athletes from Singapore, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and Malaysia.